Philosophy Commons^™

Is Intending Causally Related To Foreseeing?, Kevin Twain Lowery

Faculty Scholarship - Philosophy

Consequentialists often attempt to erase any distinction that might be made between fully intending something and merely foreseeing it as a side effect. This paper argues that intent must extend to foresight when it exists. In this way, although foresight does not determine intent, it does shape it. Furthermore, the intersection of intent and foresight give rise to two other moral problems, namely: 1) the dilemma of intending harm as the means to a beneficial end and 2) the laudability/culpability an agent may have for side effects (both intended and unintended) that are produced by the agent’s action. An attempt …